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Roy Jones: Hi, this is Roy Jones. Welcome again to the Fit Fundraising podcast. We are having so much fun in today. We’re going to be speaking with one of the legends in the rescue mission network and I am so excited to introduce to you Phil Altmeyer. Phil is executive director of the union gospel mission in spokane, washington and we were just talking the official bio says 36 years, but we believe in august this year it’s going to be 38 years of service, for residential facilities for men, women, and children, 120 acre summer camp, multiple business operations for job training, including UGM motors for full service thrift stores. His wife, Cheryl, five adult children, seven grandchildren. I want you to know we’re tied.
Phil Altmeyer: Okay.
Roy Jones: So seven grandkids, he’s got a master’s degree from Christian Ministry of Northwest Nazarene University. Phil, thanks for joining us today. Man, you are one of the legends, 38 years. Tell me about that.
Phil Altmeyer: Let me tell you, when you enjoy what you’re doing, it seems like it’s only been 10, it’s flown by and it’s been a joy just, it’s a place you get to show up and see God do miracles. And I’ll tell you, there’s nothing more exciting not only miracles have changed lives. But miracles in terms of his provision. And it’s exciting to see people, God’s people respond and support the ministry. When I showed up, Roy, just to give you a perspective on that 38 years, I remember my dad saying to me. It’ll take $1, 000 a day to operate this ministry. Think about it. Budget of 365, 000.
Roy Jones: If only.
Phil Altmeyer: Eight staff. And today, we’re over, I think we’re at about 225 staff, and the million plus
Roy Jones: 225 staff people. What’s the overall budget?
Phil Altmeyer: I think we’re about 13 or 14 million.
Roy Jones: Wow.
Phil Altmeyer: So God’s provision. It’s been an exciting ride.
Roy Jones: Wow. Now talk to me just about the number of people that you serve.
Phil Altmeyer: Okay, so we have four shelters and our focus really, our city has changed. When I came, it was all men. And then in the 80s and 90s, late 90s, you started seeing women and children in the need. So if you would have told me, Roy, that today we would have more women’s shelters than men’s, I would have been shocked. But our ministry, we’re really committed to transforming lives, not just feeding, sleeping, and sheltering.
Roy Jones: Yes.
Phil Altmeyer: So we have two shelters that are what we call our emergency. But the rest of them are all about recovery and change.
Roy Jones: So those are people in your program.
Phil Altmeyer: Yes. And that, comes at a great cost.
Roy Jones: Yes.
Phil Altmeyer: But as we talk about funding, I’ll say this, Roy. People give for food and shelter. But if you want people that give sacrificially and give the large gifts, it’s impact drives income. That’s one thing I would leave with our listeners. Impact drives income, and if you’re not changing lives long term, I don’t think people see the kind of giving we see. And that’s why, especially this last year with inflation. Missions over the years have depended upon direct mail, sending out and people send in I’ll buy a meal at Thanksgiving, Christmas and all that. But due to inflation, I think every mission saw the same thing. Those gifts went down.
Roy Jones: Yes.
Phil Altmeyer: But I’ll tell you what didn’t go down for us was major gifts. And the major gifts, and I’m not talking $100, 200, I’m talking 500, 000. 50, 000 and more. Those gifts continue to flow in and even more this year, that made up the difference.
Roy Jones: Talk to me about that shift. I know and of course, I began working with rescue missions, back when Russ Reed the man was alive.
Phil Altmeyer: Wow, our first capital campaign was with Russ Reed in 1990.
Roy Jones: Wow, the guy that invented syndicated mail programs. It’s really interesting but this shift that’s happening as you mentioned, I’ve heard even 10 years ago. 75 percent of our income came from direct mail. Where today I’m hearing, nah, it’s more like 50 50 or it’s more like 60 percent major gifts, 40 percent direct mail. How are you seeing it? Do you see any national trends or are you just speaking for your area?
Phil Altmeyer: No I can tell you because who does our funding they give national statistics with which I believed 30, 40 other missions, the trend was the same. Acquisition that first mailing out or the people that are on your mailing list giving and the smaller amount of gifts has dropped considerably because of the inflation.
Roy Jones: Yep sure.
Phil Altmeyer: It’s no question.
Roy Jones: It has a real impact and we’re more dependent upon the major donors but of course what most people don’t realize Is those major donors start out as regular donors and middle donors, right?
Phil Altmeyer: And that’s part of the challenge too, how do you move people from being a just giving and getting their heart invested? And I think that’s where you have to transfer the cause they have to see that lives are being changed.
Roy Jones: Impact
Phil Altmeyer: Yeah, it’s impact drives income, not just that you’re feeding people sleeping because in our city, I just found out yesterday our city shocking of all shocks, but I know why, Is number 17 on the list of homelessness in America.
Roy Jones: Wow.
Phil Altmeyer: And we’re not that big a city, but again, people become discouraged if you don’t see lives being changed. And so that’s so critical and I’ve often wondered what is it like to raise funds for an organization where there is not success, where there’s not true life change.
Roy Jones: Where you can’t demonstrate the impact.
Phil Altmeyer: Yes Yeah, and the stories aren’t there to tell the lives aren’t there to show what’s happened and what God’s done and that they’re no longer dependent on others, but they’re God dependent contributing members of society.
Roy Jones: Phil talk to me about how you demonstrate impact. How do you do that at your mission?
Phil Altmeyer: I think it even starts as simple as with volunteers that you just don’t say thanks for coming and serving but you say thanks let me tell you about Billy whose life has changed in stories, it’s person after person. And I think that’s what makes our ministry so exciting. We have stories to tell.
Roy Jones: So it’s not just numbers, it’s stories.
Phil Altmeyer: Yeah. To me, it’s stories.
Roy Jones: Yes.
Phil Altmeyer: People care about lives, the other thing is, I think you have to, I learned this later on too. A lot of times I would go out and I would talk, talk, but I want to find out why is that partner financial partner? Why are they investing? And to hear their heart. And then to understand what it is that motivates them because everyone’s motivated for a different reason. But ultimately I think people give because they want to see lives transform. They don’t give just to feed people.
Roy Jones: It’s interesting to hear you say this. It is about the donor’s passion too, isn’t it? It’s not just about us.
Phil Altmeyer: Totally.
Roy Jones: It’s not about the PowerPoint pitch deck.
Phil Altmeyer: Yeah. Our purpose statement changed the day I realized that it used to be about what we did. And now it starts out, we partner with the Inland Northwest. It’s a partnership. We don’t do it without the people that give. And I say this too, what other works are there that people give and they have nothing that comes back to them. When they support the homeless, what are they benefiting from, but it’s truly a gift as the Bible says to the Lord and so as a fundraiser. I believe this too. It’s easy for me to ask people to give, and when I think of our legacy gifts that people leave us, they’re really giving it to the Lord because the scripture says, when you give to the poor, you lend to the Lord. To me, Roy, that makes what we do when it comes to fundraising easy, because I’m not saying support UGM Spokane or support the work we do, no give to the Lord. And I love the fact that’s what they’re doing. It’s not about just giving money for a church that they park in the parking lot and they pay for their parking stall or the pew they sit in, but they’re literally given to the Lord.
Roy Jones: Wow, what a perspective. Tell me, if you were going to give advice to a fundraiser today, have you already given a little bit, a whole lot about impact and how that can result in income but if you were giving some advice, what are the top two or three things that fundraisers need to look at?
Phil Altmeyer: I would say, go to an organ, say, go to an organization that’s changing lives, I would have a hard time raising funds for something that wasn’t having an impact and changing lives.
Roy Jones: Yes.
Phil Altmeyer: And second of all, when you go, don’t go just to raise money, I feel like what I love about the people that work for us, they actually teach a class, they’re involved with our residents and their passion comes through when they talk to the people that are our partners in ministry. And I’m amazed how many fundraisers never really connect with the cause that they raise money for. But to me, I would give the advice. If your heart’s not in it, you’ll never be, the best you can be.
Roy Jones: Passion is.
Phil Altmeyer: Get engaged with the people.
Roy Jones: You can’t really teach passion. Can you?
Phil Altmeyer: No, and it’s gotta be more than a job so hopefully where you’re at, you’re engaged, and if you’re working for a college raising funds, are you involved with college students that what you know you’re raising money for is making a difference in their lives? And it’s the same with the homeless and the people we serve. So the people that are on our team that do funding, they are engaged in our recovery programs teaching one class, with our residents and they get to know him personally.
Roy Jones: I love that.
Phil Altmeyer: So they can tell the stories too.
Roy Jones: I love that.
Phil Altmeyer: Yeah.
Roy Jones: So your fundraisers are actually connected to the program in some way.
Phil Altmeyer: Yes. Yeah.
Roy Jones: Very good. I love that a lot. Talk to me about what are some mistakes that fundraisers make now?
Phil Altmeyer: Mistakes.
Roy Jones: It’s the other side of the coin.
Phil Altmeyer: The other side of the coin. I think one thing that’s hard on organizations is fundraisers that come and go. Because I think whether we like it or not, our partners in ministry develop relationship. And one of the mistakes you can make, I think, is when you develop a relationship that’s what the giving becomes about. I come back. It has to be about the cause.
Roy Jones: That’s right.
Phil Altmeyer: And so even if you do leave, the people continue.
Roy Jones: That’s right.
Phil Altmeyer: And so don’t make fundraising about yourself. Make it about what it is God’s called you to do and the cause. And so I feel that’s important.
Roy Jones: Okay, don’t lose your place because I want to drill down on this just a little bit.
Phil Altmeyer: Okay.
Roy Jones: They say that the average fundraiser works at a non profit less than 18 months.
Phil Altmeyer: Wow.
Roy Jones: Do you see that?
Phil Altmeyer: Yeah.
Roy Jones: That sort of transition moving from charity to charity?
Phil Altmeyer: We’ve been blessed, we haven’t seen that.
Roy Jones: Okay.
Phil Altmeyer: But I wouldn’t be surprised because it’s always looking for the recruitment that takes place. But yeah, we’re looking for people. Long term and we’ve been blessed as a ministry to have that.
Roy Jones: Talk to me about just the development staff. How big a staff is it? For an organization your size and I realize it’s not a perfect magical formula that you can just pick up and paste at any mission, but.
Phil Altmeyer: We’re a weird duck. We’ve always wanted to be about our culture and who we are, and a lot of times when you go to outside sources, the picture they give you’re talking about Russ Reid, I remember at the beginning. They would send pictures of guys in L. A. on the streets, we’ve got snow, we’ve got, this summer.
Roy Jones: You gotta fix that.
Phil Altmeyer: Yeah, so they’ve changed it over the years, but, so we have writers we have designers, we do our own newsletter. In fact, we won an award here, I was really proud of our team. We’ve won one every year, and we’re competing against the professionals that do it. So we’ve got our own people that do video, produce our own videos, we do our own web design. We’re blessed that we’ve always done it in house. And so we have a large team, so we’re blessed to have a great team, not just a large team, but we try to do everything so it’s about us, our stories are fresh. We’re out there putting out blogs every day, we’re getting the message out. And the good thing is we got stories to tell, because God’s working and we’re focused on change lives, not just housing and feeding.
Roy Jones: Wow, so you’re touching on something that’s a big deal to me. I think so often people think in development I could just hire the big bald guy. And just have a one person shop and he or she is going to go out and raise millions of dollars. It is about putting more hands to the plow, isn’t it?
Phil Altmeyer: If you’ve ever seen that, it’s like, how can they have fresh stories? How can they be on top of it? You know what I mean? We are right there, and they’re on top of it, they’re interviewing our guests, and they’re able to get that out, they’re interviewing staff and sharing their passion. I’m overwhelmed with how much stuff they’re putting out.
Roy Jones: But it takes people to create that content.
Phil Altmeyer: Yes, and as a result of that, we’re seeing our web giving up. When you talk about trends, when I say our web giving.
Roy Jones: The internet gifts.
Phil Altmeyer: Yeah. We’re seeing that increase rather than the mail too that’s the other trend that’s really happening.
Roy Jones: Yeah and that mail continue. The shift you’re talking about revenue where direct mail today is more of a driver, not a converter. It’s pushing people to the internet to get it. And so it’s its purpose has changed quite a bit. Hasn’t it?
Phil Altmeyer: It has, yeah and again with postage, what it is all those things have impacted it.
Roy Jones: They have a real impact.
Phil Altmeyer: I’ll tell you something else I’d share about fundraising that a lot of people don’t think about. You read that we have thrift stores.
Roy Jones: Yes.
Phil Altmeyer: We have a motors where people donate cars and boats.
Roy Jones: I love that idea.
Phil Altmeyer: Roy, you and I grew up in a generation where the church taught people to tithe. I said back a few years ago, I’m watching this trend that this younger generation does not understand tithing. Where’s our organization going to be in 15 years from now. And so we developed these enterprises, which is another means by which people can partner, maybe not financially, buy a car or gifts to a,
Roy Jones: Store business.
Phil Altmeyer: Yes. And it’s all support. And when I look at what we’re able to do because of our enterprises and the money that comes in, that’s another form of fundraising that we often don’t talk about. Someone donates a car, you sell it, you make $3, 000. That’s a $3, 000 gift.
Roy Jones: That’s right.
Phil Altmeyer: Same as cash. So there’s other ways.
Roy Jones: You’ve taught somebody a skill to fix that car and.
Phil Altmeyer: We started there, but it was hard. So we’ve had to buy.
Roy Jones: You’ve got to hire some pro’s.
Phil Altmeyer: We’ve had to hire the pros. It’s gotten too complicated but it all starts somewhere and I’m just saying, I think in fundraising, we often think of going out, just the dollar asking but, thrift stores, motors, cars, boats, you name it, we have a donated and the volume of money that brings in allows us to do more ministry also. It’s not just the one, what would I say, snapshot that everyone thinks fundraising is asking for money. There’s other things, and I think we have to get creative.
Roy Jones: Yes. Entrepreneurship, it’s very innovative. And again, any other trends you can think of? As you’re sitting here looking back correct respectively 38 years, what do you see on the horizon?
Phil Altmeyer: That’s a good question. I remember when they introduced, you go back to Russ Reed, when they introduced direct mail, I remember some of the directors back then going we’re not going to do that, and I remember a guy taking over a mission. And their budget tripled overnight when they started doing direct mail, and that was the ticket for many years. So when I look to the horizon, I think we’re going to have to be creative. And there’s going to be some things we’ve maybe never thought about.
Roy Jones: Wow.
Phil Altmeyer: But I think the key is still going to be what is important to all of it, it’s relationship. With our financial partners.
Roy Jones: Yes. That in the end, especially where the bigger gifts come from, that’s not going to happen with AI, is it?
Phil Altmeyer: No.
Roy Jones: It’s going to be face to face.
Phil Altmeyer: Yes. And I think too, you have to hire fundraisers that see that as a ministry, not as fundraisers. Because those people have times that they need prayer, they need a visit, and they always said to me, Roy, what’s going to happen, all I look around, and they’ve said this for years, I’ve been there 38, what’s going to happen when all these older people die off? You know what I mean? All I look out there, they’re all got white hair there. You know what I found? I’m entering into that.
Roy Jones: Somebody’s moving to replace them up.
Phil Altmeyer: And there’s something about life, that you view giving and the resources are more available. And that is the target audience.
Roy Jones: Yes, it is that’s where the resources are and it’s amazing just to see people that especially up in years and they view that’s their whole reason for being on this planet is to help people like you and those you serve and it’s so special.
Phil Altmeyer: I would say this too Roy, when the wave of the future. I am thankful to god that we had an attorney on our board in the 70s 80s that understood wills and estates.
Roy Jones: Wow.
Phil Altmeyer: And so right now, even our involvement in that area, it’s something I’ll probably never see with the people that are choosing to leave the mission in their estate. But I know years down the road, someone will look back and say, thanks that you had a vision for that. One of the reasons our ministry has grown and expanded as much as it has, we have had, I think two capital campaigns. And the time that I’ve been there yet, we’ve added building after building store after store, no debt. And it’s all been done through estates and wills.
Roy Jones: Wow, legacy giving.
Phil Altmeyer: Yes. And so to me, that’s another area of missions are not thinking about that organizations are not in tune with that. They’re missing out on the future and I think we’re a society that it’s here and now. So we don’t invest a lot in that right now thinking, Oh, I’ll never see it. But I’m going to tell you, it catches up and when it catches up, it’s a snowball. Our first thrift store was a million dollar estate. From Harry Watts. Do you know that store has returned since we opened it? Probably three or $4 million to the mission. So what I’m saying is if we wouldn’t have had.
Roy Jones: That estate gift.
Phil Altmeyer: Yes.
Roy Jones: As continuing to give and give.
Phil Altmeyer: Yeah.
Roy Jones: Wow.
Phil Altmeyer: Totally. So I just think that’s something, when I think of fundraising, we don’t talk enough about, we’re always thinking about right now, how do we get funds and operate day to day, but I think long term we have to start saying where is the potential with estate giving, legacy giving, we call it.
Roy Jones: Yes. Phil, thanks so much. So insightful. Man, so much knowledge, so much wisdom. Thank you so much for what you do for our movement and for the input and direction here. Thank you again.
Phil Altmeyer: Thank you, Roy.
Roy Jones: It’s an honor to meet you. Thank you. It’s a pleasure.
Listen, everyone. Thank you once again for joining the Fit Fundraising Podcast. And if you don’t know this, last year we helped 41 nonprofits with free fundraising counsel. I do have to tell you, eight of those people ended up hiring us and putting us on retainer. But if you want some pre help. Please call us. We’re here for you. Last year, we donated over 250 free hours to rescue missions around the country and fundraising council. We donated more than $41,000 cash to ministries around the country. So please call us, we want to help you. Thank you so much for joining the Fit Fundraising podcast.
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